×

INDI Library v2.0.7 is Released (01 Apr 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Guider calibration is wrong after meridian flip

  • Posts: 535
  • Thank you received: 109
Does the setting in the solver for "Sync, Slew to Target, Nothing" play in here? I have had two nights lately where I set up captures through the "Camera and Filter wheel tab" that needed to do meridian flips. The flip was done successfully, and the frame was solved after the flip, but it never moved to the target after, and therefore never restarted capturing on the other side of the meridian. My workflow is to do the Alignment using the "Mount Model" with 2 stars, with the radio button set to "Sync" and then I set it to "Nothing" because I do not want additional sync points added once I am pretty well aligned. Too many sync points seems to be a problem. The rest of my night, I leave the setting on "Nothing", including during the meridian flip.
2 years 11 months ago #71157

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 912
  • Thank you received: 86
Thanks but no it's not related to "Nothing"...
-- Max S
ZWO AM5. RST-135. AZ-GTI. HEQ5. iOptron SkyTracker.
TPO RC6. FRA400. Rokinon 135 and other lenses.
ZWO ASI2600MC. D5500 modified with UVIR clip-in filter.
ZWO ASI120MM Mini x 2. ZWO 30F4 guider. Orion 50mm guider.
ZWO EAF x 3.
2 years 11 months ago #71174

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 437
  • Thank you received: 31
Max,

It depends on the mount.

Some handle the meridian and you don't need to reverse directions and others don't and require the software to reverse.

That is where the reverse settings option comes into play (cannot remember exactly what the option is called).

Paul
2 years 11 months ago #71187

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 912
  • Thank you received: 86
I am talking about guide calibration.
There the mount steps RA forward, RA reverse, DEC forward, DEC reverse.
-- Max S
ZWO AM5. RST-135. AZ-GTI. HEQ5. iOptron SkyTracker.
TPO RC6. FRA400. Rokinon 135 and other lenses.
ZWO ASI2600MC. D5500 modified with UVIR clip-in filter.
ZWO ASI120MM Mini x 2. ZWO 30F4 guider. Orion 50mm guider.
ZWO EAF x 3.
2 years 11 months ago #71188

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 437
  • Thank you received: 31
Max,

Maybe I wasn't clear.

After a Meridian flip the software may need to reverse the RA & Dec directions, but this is entirely dependent on the way the mount handles the flip.

Some require the directions to remain the same and others do not.

There is an INDI setting to determine how it should respond.

Paul
2 years 11 months ago #71194

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 912
  • Thank you received: 86
Paul,
My mount is a dumb HEQ5. I don't use a hand control only Ekos.
Ekos seems to know what to do but fails for some reason.

-- after the flip it starts calibrating the guider
-- RA forward calibration step goes in the wrong direction - say to the Right (instead of left)
-- RA reverse goes in the correct direction which is Right again! so the RA calibration never completes.
-- if I interrupt/stop and restart calibration - it goes well.
-- Max S
ZWO AM5. RST-135. AZ-GTI. HEQ5. iOptron SkyTracker.
TPO RC6. FRA400. Rokinon 135 and other lenses.
ZWO ASI2600MC. D5500 modified with UVIR clip-in filter.
ZWO ASI120MM Mini x 2. ZWO 30F4 guider. Orion 50mm guider.
ZWO EAF x 3.
2 years 11 months ago #71205

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 912
  • Thank you received: 86
Jasem,
for my other two mounts, on the guider calibration plot:
-- RA calibration goes vertically, say up and then down back to zero
-- DEC goes horizontally, say right and then left back to zero
-- after the flip RA goes in the same direction but DEC direction flips

With HEQ:
-- RA calibration goes horizontally, say right and then left back to zero
-- DEC goes vertically, say up and then down back to zero
-- after the flip RA tries to go in the same direction and fails but after restart the direction flips. DEC direction doesn't flip

I just realized/remembered that I rotated the saddle 90 degrees on the HEQ and then unclutched and rotated the axis 90 degrees back.
Could this be the reason for my issue?

Thanks!

​​​​​​​
-- Max S
ZWO AM5. RST-135. AZ-GTI. HEQ5. iOptron SkyTracker.
TPO RC6. FRA400. Rokinon 135 and other lenses.
ZWO ASI2600MC. D5500 modified with UVIR clip-in filter.
ZWO ASI120MM Mini x 2. ZWO 30F4 guider. Orion 50mm guider.
ZWO EAF x 3.
2 years 11 months ago #71206

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 912
  • Thank you received: 86
Well... I rotated the saddle back to the default/original position.
I can't explain to myself why but now the guide calibration after the flip works correctly.
I only tried once though.
Assuming that my issue is now solved just two questions:
-- why it matters if the saddle rotated 90 degrees?
-- I rotated the saddle more that a year ago and I am certain this configuration worked just fine until sometime in the second half of last year.

Thanks!
-- Max S
ZWO AM5. RST-135. AZ-GTI. HEQ5. iOptron SkyTracker.
TPO RC6. FRA400. Rokinon 135 and other lenses.
ZWO ASI2600MC. D5500 modified with UVIR clip-in filter.
ZWO ASI120MM Mini x 2. ZWO 30F4 guider. Orion 50mm guider.
ZWO EAF x 3.
2 years 11 months ago #71251

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 1222
  • Thank you received: 565
Max,

I'm glad you figured out at least a workaround for your issue.
What do you mean by "rotated the saddle"? Can you add a picture?
Do you literally mean that just the piece of metal that clamps the OTA onto the mount was rotated,
but the mount itself and OTA itself are in the same position (not rotated)?

Also, why did you "rotate the saddle"?

Hy
2 years 11 months ago #71255

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 912
  • Thank you received: 86
Yes, "the piece of metal that clamps the OTA onto the mount was rotated".
I did this because on HEQ5, one needs to rotate the OTA 90 degrees to horizontal position to be able to use the polar scope, otherwise it's blocked.
I rotated the saddle so that I could use the polar scope when the OTA was pointing to the NCP.
It's just the mechanics. I rotated the saddle and rotated the mount's axis back so that the scope was still facing the NCP.

Of course, now I don't use the polar scope (but I did before).
-- Max S
ZWO AM5. RST-135. AZ-GTI. HEQ5. iOptron SkyTracker.
TPO RC6. FRA400. Rokinon 135 and other lenses.
ZWO ASI2600MC. D5500 modified with UVIR clip-in filter.
ZWO ASI120MM Mini x 2. ZWO 30F4 guider. Orion 50mm guider.
ZWO EAF x 3.
2 years 11 months ago #71259

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 1000
  • Thank you received: 155
Oddly, this just happened to me last night on a CEM120 EC2 mount.
Everything was great before the automated flip.  Then the guider couldn't calibrate because the RA was going in reverse.
I stopped it - and performed a manual calibration and then it worked.  It seemed that when EKOS did the automated calibration, that was when the problem occurred.

Peter

 
Last edit: 2 years 10 months ago by Peter Kennett.
2 years 10 months ago #72124

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 912
  • Thank you received: 86
It's still doing it to me.
Most of the time. Only on a rare occasion it doesn't.

Tonight I did two flips to test.
One - over north meridian. One - over south meridian.
Both calibrations failed immediately after the flip but were OK on the second attempt.

Let me illustrate.

Before the flip:
 
After the flip:

After the flip. Second attempt:
 
 
-- Max S
ZWO AM5. RST-135. AZ-GTI. HEQ5. iOptron SkyTracker.
TPO RC6. FRA400. Rokinon 135 and other lenses.
ZWO ASI2600MC. D5500 modified with UVIR clip-in filter.
ZWO ASI120MM Mini x 2. ZWO 30F4 guider. Orion 50mm guider.
ZWO EAF x 3.
Last edit: 2 years 7 months ago by maxthebuilder.
2 years 7 months ago #75411
Attachments:

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Time to create page: 0.428 seconds